Pulse: Communication Is King

Rather than fighting it out, we started with some basic and inexpensive audience research. Through an online survey to a representative group of recent donors, we learned what motivated them to give and what they say when they talk about the organization.

We also recruited for an ongoing communications advisory group and got an incredible response (80 percent). So there's a group of key individuals poised to evaluate a draft fundraising letter or campaign logo. That's golden.